History

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About The Program

College of Arts and Sciences

History

In NSU's history program, you'll use the historical method to investigate important questions about society; perform research and clearly present findings; and identify and explain the significance of important events and issues in American and world history.

Dedicated NSU faculty will help you make connections across time and space and fine-tune your writing and thinking skills.

You'll learn to read critically, write effectively and reach your full potential as a citizen.

History majors are found in a wide variety of fields. Many graduates find rewarding careers in law, education, business, museums, historic sites, nonprofit institutions, government, and more.

Careers

History majors with a bachelor's degree are employed across the spectrum of the American economy. Many work in private, for-profit firms in sales and marketing jobs, in the education and government sectors, or are self-employed.

Dr. Marmorstein has been teaching at Northern since the fall 1988 semester and is the current mace-bearer, the distinction given the longest-serving Northern faculty member. He uses the handle "Ancient Art" because he's a specialist in ancient history and the most ancient of the NSU faculty members. He teaches lower division Western survey classes and upper division classes in ancient history, covering ancient Rome, ancient Greece, early church, and world religions.

Dr. Marmorstein did his undergraduate work at Stanford, earning his B.A. in drama (1974). After several years teaching high school English and drama, he returned to graduate school, eventually earning a Ph.D. in history at the University of California, Davis (1988).

NSU and Community Involvement

Dr. Marmorstein is the advisor to the NSU Chess Club, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, and CRU. He is a frequent guest lecturer for various on-campus and off-campus groups, speaking on topics like Men, Women, and Other Mythological Creatures and The Death of Love. He also writes regular colums for the Aberdeen American News.

Steven Usitalo is a specialist in Russian and Soviet history, the history of science, and the history of film. A recipient of several research grants, Dr. Usitalo has co-edited an anthology on Russian history and published a monograph on the Russian polymath Mikhail Lomonosov. At present his research focuses on Russian/Soviet and Armenian film, and on curiosity and collecting - specifically, the development of Russia’s first museum in the early eighteenth century. Dr. Usitalo earned a B.A. in history from the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor; completed the master's program (certificate received) in political history from the University of Helsinki; earned an M.A in Soviet and East European studies from Carleton University; and received a Ph.D. in history from McGill University.

Dr. Ric Dias is a specialist in 20th-century U.S. history, concentrating on the American west. His primary interests include the modern American west, business history, and the Cold War. Dr. Dias is co-advisor to the NSU History Club and is the NSU Constitution Day coordinator.

Awards

NSU Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 1998

NSU Student Organization Advisor of the Year in 1998 and 2000

Outstanding Honors Faculty Member 2002 and 2004

Williams Faculty-Student Collaborative Research Award in 1998 and 2003

Dr. Erin H. Fouberg is professor of geography and director of the Northern State University Honors Program. She received her bachelor of science in foreign service from the Georgetown University Edmund A. Walsh School of Foreign Service, master of arts in geography from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln, and Ph.D. in geography from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln.

Dr. Fouberg is a broadly trained human geographer with expertise in political geography and geography education. Dr. Fouberg teaches courses in world regional geography, physical geography, political geography, human geography, and regional geographies including South Asia, Middle East, and Europe.

As director of the NSU Honors Program since 2011, Dr. Fouberg has increased the average number of Honors students from 40 to 140, redesigned the Honors curriculum, mentored more than 100 Northern students to complete undergraduate Honors theses and graduate In Honoribus, and created the NSU Common Read Program and Common Read Lecture.

The Journal of Geography in Higher Education recognized Dr. Fouberg’s research in geography education by bestowing the Biennial Award for Teaching and Learning on her in 2015. In 2017, Dr. Fouberg was elected to the Board of Directors of the National Council for Geographic Education.

Students have recognized Dr. Fouberg’s excellence in teaching at three points in her career. She won the Outstanding Faculty Member in 2011 as an associate professor at NSU. Students at the University of Mary Washington chose her for the Mary W. Pinschmidt Award when she was assistant professor. The University of Nebraska-Lincoln Parents Association recognized Dr. Fouberg for contribution to students when she was a graduate student.

Dr. David Grettler is a specialist in colonial and 19th-century U.S. history. He is also a historical archaeologist interested in social and environmental history. Dr. Grettler received NSU's Outstanding Faculty Member Award in 1996, the NSU Honors Program Outstanding Teaching Award in 1999 & 2002, and NSU Student Organization Advisor of the Year in 2002. He is co-advisor to the NSU History Club.